Railroad crossing sign



March 21, 1933- R. P. SCHIFFMANN 1,901,879

RAILROAD CROSSING SIGN Filed Nov 11, 1951 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTO'R March 21, 1%3- R. P. SCHlFFMANN 1,901,879

RAILROAD CROSSING SIGN Filed Nov. 11, 1931 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Fig- 5 H 6 BY l TTORNEY Patented Mar. 21, 1933 UNETEE STTES ROBERT P. SCHIFFMAN'N, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS RAILROAD CROSSING SIGN Application filed November 11, 1931.

This invention relates to railroad crossing signs and has for its object providing a sign which is adjustable and which can be set so as to indicate the direction of the railroad with reference to the driveway, so that any person driving on the road can tell by observing the sign where to look for any approaching train. A particular object of the invention is to provide such a sign which can be adjusted to meet the needs of any change in the crossing and which is applicable to any crossing, so that the signs may be made in quantities at the factory without knowledge of the particular arrangement that will ultimately be necessary.

Of the drawings, Figs. 1, 2, 3 and 4 are elevations of the sign, indicating difi'erent inclinations of the indicating arms with reference to the support; Fig. 5 is an elevation similar to Fig. 3 but at 90 therefrom; and Fig. 6 is an elevation similar to Fig. 4 but at 90 therefrom; and Fig. 7 is a plan view of the indicating arms detached from the support.

The invention consists of any suitable support 10, which may be set in the ground or mounted in a cement base 11 or otherwise supported upright. The support has fixed thereto, by means of screws 12, the blade 13, which, preferably, is circular and, hence, disk shaped. In this disk are holes 14 which are adapted to receive bolts 15 for bolting the indicating arms 16 and 17 to the disk and support. These arms may be integral or independent as desired. A central bolt 18 is provided, by means of which the arms, which are preferably formed from a single piece, may be bolted between the support and the disk, so as to be rotated to any particular inclination that may be desired.

The purpose of the sign is to indicate to the driver in the nearby road, particularly a road which is to cross the railroad, the direction in which the railroad runs with reference to the driver. In general, the driver may be considered as driving along the support 10 towards the arms, and the railroad will cross this driveway in the direction indicated by the arms. For instance, in case of Fig. 1, if the driver is considered as pass- Serial No. 574,281.

ing along the support 10 towards the arms, the railroad will cross the driveway at an angle of about 40, and with the railroad nearest to his left side. Fig. 2 indicates a similar inclination but with the railroad on his right side.

In such cases, it is necessary only for the driver to look backwardly to the left or the right, in order to determine whether a train is approaching from the rear. WVith ordinary signs, there is no indication of the direction in which the trains would be expected. As a consequence, the driver is obliged to look in all directions and, if the track is not plainly in view, he will still be unable to determine where to look for an approaching train. But, with my sign in use, he can instantly tell where to look in both directions and can determine much more quickly and definitely whether it is safe to cross the track.

In case of Fig. 3, a driver is definitely informed that the railroad track crosses the road at right angles. WVhile this sign is similar, so far as the pointers are concerned, to an ordinary sign, yet the ordinary sign indicates nothing of the kind, as it is used for crossings at all angles.

In case of Fig. at, the sign indicates to the driver that the road is parallel with the rail road. This does not indicate on which side of the road the railroad may be, but it is to be used ordinarily when there is a turn in the road which will require the driver to cross the track. With this sign at the turn, the driver knows at once that the track must be on the side towards which he turns. He is th n able at once to determine definitely in which direction to look before crossing the track.

It will thus be seen that, by the proper use of my sign, much more information is imparted to the driver who is likely to cross the railroad track than is ordinarily the case, and he is thus able to much more quickly and definitely inform himself as to the danger of crossing so far as approaching trains may be concerned.

Obviously, the exact'details of the apparatus as disclosed by the drawings may be varied more or less without departing from the spirit of the invention, as disclosed by the following claims. But the general features are desirable, so that these signs may be changed when desired or may be manufactured in quantities and sent out to be assembled, with the exception of the adjustment of the inclination of the arms to the support. It is necessary only for the installer to rotate the arm to the particular direction desired and then to insert bolts 15 in proper openings 14. Obviously, the position of the openings 14 may be varied as desired, and more openings included, in order to increase the possible angle of ad justment.

Ordinarily, the fillers 20 may be used for supporting the upper and lower edges of the blades 13. But, in case of the rotation of the arms to the vertical position, the arms themselves will take the place of the fillers.

The arms may be marked with the ordinary black and white strips, as indicated, to make them more prominent. Also, both sides of the arms may be similarly marked. When so marked, a single sign at a crossing will answer, as the angle of crossing will be correctly indicated when approaching from either side of the sign.

Although I have herein described my invention as applicable to railroad crossings, yet it is to be understood that it is applicable to any crossings, such as the crossing of two driveways. In any such case, the wording or letters on the sign would obviously be changed to conform to the par ticular crossing.

I claim as my invention:

1. A railroad sign comprising a support, a plate fixed to said support, an arm rotatably mounted between said plate and support, and means for fastening said arm to said plate at adjustable angles.

2. A railroad sign comprising a support, a plate fixed to said support, a pair of arms rotatably mounted between said support and plate, and means for fastening each of said arms to said plate in adjusted positions.

In testimony whereof, I hereunto set my hand.

ROBERT P. SCHIFFMANN. 

